


A Tale of Misunderstandings

by PinkRambo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, BDSM negotiation, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, M/M, Maybe I'll write more, Misunderstandings, Written for a twitter request, this was fun, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24992518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkRambo/pseuds/PinkRambo
Summary: There was a request on Twitter for misunderstandings between being a DM for D&D and a DM for BDSM. I have... delivered. I got way too invested in something this minor. But I had a blast. And hell maybe I'll even continue it, write some more. Who knows. I certainly don't.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	A Tale of Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> https://twitter.com/sablier_bloque/status/1277616333417517057

“Yo, you heard Rogers is running another session tonight right?”

James glanced over his shoulder at the younger college student that was speaking to his friends. Was he talking about his best friend Steve Rogers? The student looked lanky, wearing red and blue, talking to a slightly heavier set friend and another student with curly hair. 

“Yeah, I’m already prepared and ready to go! I love the way Rogers runs his sessions. It’s always focused on us.” The heavy set student nodded as he shifted on his feet, almost as if he was feeling uncomfortable with something. James’ eyebrows pulled down, and he moved off, missing hearing the next phrase: “I just hope we don’t get killed down in that cultist dungeon. My tiefling can’t take anymore death.” 

James had been wanting to explore his kinks, and hadn’t had any luck thus far finding a dom he liked or was trusting enough of. He put his hands in his pockets, considering just what he was going to do to approach Steve about it. 

That night James sat there, tapping his phone on his hand as he stared at his computer. He had homework to do, but he couldn’t focus on it. At all. He wanted to reach out to Steve about what he was sure was his desires, but also this was his best friend and he didn’t know how you were even supposed to approach them about this. Would Steve think he was weird? Probably but who else did he trust that much besides Steve?

He shook his head and set his phone to the side, starting to work on his homework for his psychology professor. James glanced over at his phone, seeing a few texts from friends, asking if he had plans for the weekend and if he wanted to join them for anything. It was nearly midnight when he finished it, and submitted it before he moved over to the single bed that his dorm room had. He tapped his phone against his stomach and sighed softly. 

“Fuck it. Lord hates a coward.” He muttered to himself before he opened up his conversation with Steve. 

_ WhiteWolf: Hey Steve… I heard ur a DM… Do u have any openings? _

Then he just set his phone off to the side and pulled his laptop onto his lap and started to watch videos on youtube before he heard the sound of metal hitting brick. He picked up his phone, looking at the message from Steve. 

_ CAmerica: I might… what days are you feeling? _

_ WhiteWolf: Uhmm… well what days do u have free? _

_ CAmerica: I have an opening on Saturday afternoon. Say… One pm? Do you have a group? _

_ WhiteWolf: Should I have a group? _

_ CAmerica: Well I can find others, but usually you’ll want people you’re comfortable with.  _

_ WhiteWolf: Well that’s sort of been the problem. I haven’t been able to find people I’m… comfortable with. Should I bring anything? _

_ CAmerica: Just an open mind and a willingness to learn and explore. _

* * *

For the rest of the week, James was anxious. He didn’t ask Steve more questions, since Steve had said that he should just bring an open mind and a willingness to learn. James was more than ready for all of that. Friday night, James was studying for a test he had Monday since his usual study days (saturday afternoons) were about to be filled with something else. Before he went to bed, he texted Steve: 

_ WhiteWolf: Where should I meet u tomorrow? _

He had a response when he woke up that morning.

_ CAmerica: Just stop by my room. We’ll head over together. I’m really looking forward to this. _

James flushed almost immediately upon reading that text, and took his time in the shower, getting himself cleaned and prepared for whatever he thought was going to happen, which included trimming his pubic hairs to a neat length. He was nervous but excited none the less. 

At 12:30 he was rushing out the door, dressed in jeans that weren’t too tight, an old band shirt and a sweater, heading for Steve’s room. He knocked on the door, and waited, leaning against the wall. The door opened to show his best friend, all sun kissed freckles and blonde hair that didn’t have a strand out of place, and a wide smile at James. Over his shoulder was a bag, and looked like it was heavy and full. James swallowed before he smiled back at Steve, who stepped out of his room, checked for his keys, wallet, and phone before he locked the door and headed down the hallway with James in step next to him. 

“Where are we headed?” James asked, his hands deep in his pockets. 

“The Library.” 

_ “Is that what they call it these days?” _

Steve looked over at him with confusion. “What they call what?” He asked leading James towards the actual Library. 

“Oh… uh… nothing.” James replied, looking off to the side, assuming that Steve just wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet.

As they entered, Steve directed him to one of the side rooms reserved for group study that Steve had booked. Already settled there was Tony Stark, the AI tech genius, Natasha Romanov, the gymnast star that was taking linguistics to be a translator later, Clint Barton, the Archery captain who was nearly done his graduate degree with economics, and Sam Wilson, the Track Runner who was studying Aviation Mechanics. 

James was confused, but was seated next to the head of the table next to Steve who was pulling out various other books, and papers. He hid his confusion and disappointment as Steve started to explain how to play Dungeons and Dragons to James, happy that his best friend was finally willing to try out one of his favorite activities. 

They were almost an hour in, with the others around the table helping James build his character when Scott ran in, and hastily got all of his papers out, looking apologetically at Steve who was fixing that disappointed dad look at him. “Scott, we’ve talked about this.” 

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m trying Steve, I promise. My alarm actually didn’t go off this morning… I didn’t even go out last night so that I wouldn’t be late.” Scott rubbed the back of his neck and looked chastised. James quickly finished his character off and handed it over to Steve for final approval. Steve looked it all over very carefully, smiling a little bit to himself.

“This is perfect James. Here, for you.” Steve handed James back his character sheet before he held out three more items. A dice bag, a flattened leather rectangle, and a small piece of paper that had some writing on it. James looked up at Steve surprised. “All of that is yours too. I’ll start you with that, you get to grow your collection from there.” Steve smiled at James who smiled back, before he poured the dice into his hand. They were silver with red facings, and the leather rectangle clipped into a dice tray, and it was red leather with silver felt, with a red star in the center of the tray. The paper was an item that went with his chosen class. 

_ The Warden’s Longrifle  _

_ Magical weapon, +1  _

_ Deals 1d12 Piercing damage, 120/480 _

_ Two-handed, reload 1, misfire 2 _

Steve collected everyone’s character sheets, double checked them all, before he handed them all back. He glanced around the table, before he asked Sam to move over next to James so that he could help him with finding things on his sheet. 

“Okay. Hi everyone, we just have one last thing to cover, and then we can start.” Steve handed out sheets to everyone that had information at the top explaining what the game was about the rest was a checklist that detailed things that were yes, nos and maybes in the game. It took a scant ten minutes to finish off before they all handed them back to Steve, who’s expression changed almost immediately. 

His eyes darkened, brows furrowed as he leaned forward, hands folded and braced over his upper lip, regarding everyone like he was about to give them all a briefing of a lifetime. A dark laugh erupted from his lips and James glanced around the table. But what he saw wasn’t the college students that had been just laughing with him as they helped him create his gunslinger. They all had taken on the expressions that their characters would have, met with that laugh: Tony had glanced up from the book he was reading, feet up on the table, Natasha stopped twirling the pen around her fingers, gripping it like a dagger, Clint had his feet up, arms wrapped around them, and watching Steve expectantly, Scott looked startled and stopped bringing his cup up to his lips, and Sam was intently watching Steve as he tapped a pen against his notepad. 

“Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds everything. The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.”

And like that, James found himself playing Dungeons and Dragons for the first time ever, with Tony playing a know it all wizard, that he said he was going to multiclass later, Natasha playing a rogue with the ability to perform, Clint a ranged fighter, Sam a paladin who always tries to do the right thing, Scott an enigmatic monk who could talk a good game. They took up that room for six hours, and at the end of it, two of them had nearly died, but they had made it to level 5. 

James was a bit overwhelmed with it all, but he was looking forward to the next session. Tony glanced at his phone, swore and quickly collected his things. “Shit, Steve, I’d stick around for after session hangs, but Pep’s gonna have my ass if I’m late for dinner.” He grabbed his bag and waved at everyone giving James a smile and a wink. “See you next week Barnes. It was nice meeting you.” Then he was nearly running out the door. 

Scott was doing the same. “Yeah I gotta go too, promised Cassie we’d have a movie night tonight and Maggie gets angry when I’m super later doing that.” Scott grabbed his things, and was out before anyone could say anything back to him. 

Those that were left laughed softly. “Thanks for inviting us Steve, this was fun. Looking forward to next week already. We should clear out now though. I’ve got a paper due at midnight tomorrow, so I’ll have to head out and get that all done.” Natasha said with a smile, reaching out to gently pat James on the shoulder. “It was nice to meet you James. See you next week!” Clint did the same, shaking Steve’s hand in thanks before he and Natasha headed out. 

Steve was cleaning up his stuff, before he held a folder out to James. “Here, put your sheets and notes in that. And then I’ll walk with you back to the dorms. Sam, thanks again.”

“My pleasure. I’ll see you next week. Though, I should remind you, I’ll be missing the weekend after. Have a tech competition.” Sam said as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

“You got it Sam. Thanks for the reminder. See you next week.” Steve grinned as Sam gave a lazy salute and turned to head out. James grinned a little bit over at Steve and shook his head a little bit. 

“You know… I can see why you like it. This was a lot of fun.” James said as he dismantled his dice tray, and put his dice back in the bag, before he pocketed that and slipped the flat tray into the folder. 

“See? I’ve been trying to get you to play this for ages!” Steve grinned as he got everything into the bag and back over his shoulder, before he rolled up his map and slipped it into the sections of the bag designed for it. 

As a pair they walked back towards the dorms, and James had his hands in his pockets. “Though….” He paused, clearing his throat for a moment, before he looked up at the sky, where the sun was starting to set, and the lights were starting to come on to illuminate the pathways. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind.” 

Steve glanced over at him, smile still on his face. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”

James opened his mouth to speak before he heard laughter behind them. “Hmm… maybe we could talk in your room instead?” 

The blonde was curious but nodded. “Sure. We’re almost there anyway.” Steve unlocked his room and held the door open for him, letting James step through first. He put his bag down to the side and moved to sit on his bed, leaving his best friend the chair. “What’s on your mind?”

“Okay well… It’s like this right… I’ve been doing some surfing, reading and all that shit. I stumbled across some stuff I wanted to try but couldn’t find anyone that… fit.” James sat there, rubbing his hands together to handle his nervous energy. Fuck picking up girls wasn’t this hard. But Steve was being patient, waiting for him to say his piece. 

“Then earlier this week, I over heard other students saying that you were running sessions, and that they were focused on them, and it linked up to what I was reading so that’s why I asked, but I didn’t realize that it was Dungeons and Dragons that they were talking about… I honest to go thought that you might have actually been a dominant.” James’ voice was rushed and soft at the end as if he was really not sure how Steve was going to react. 

He heard the soft chuckle from his friend, and he glanced up at him, from his hands, seeing how Steve was leaned forward, forearms on his thighs near his knees. Steve chuckled again, bright blue eyes on James. “Oh I’m one of those too. But only on Sundays… that I affectionately called my sindays.” Steve grinned over at James, who’s eyes lit up. 

“Would you… with me?” James asked.

“Absolutely. But we’ll need to negotiate, much like how we negotiated today at dnd. You need to understand that while we’re in this situation, that you should attempt to leave all affections or feelings at the door if you can. Which isn’t to say that it won’t colour it, but we should attempt to do so. Because you’re my best friend, but I do have others that I’m a dominant for, and I can’t just drop them without a valid reason. Does this make sense?” Steve asked with a smile as he shifted over a bit more on the bed and patted the empty place next to him. 

James moved over, and sat next to him, both of them facing each other. “I can certainly do my best to make sure that it stays at the door.” He swallowed a little, feeling warm. He stripped off his sweater leaving it on his lap. 

“What exactly do you want to explore then James?”

“Well… I’d like to try the submissive part of it. I don’t see myself being submissive with female partners, which may change if I find the right one, but none of the ones I’ve liked have really struck me as someone I’d want controlling me. So there’s that. I’d also like to explore other facets of it, umm… heat and cold play, which I think is wax and ice play? As well restraints and some asphyxiation if you’re willing for it?” He laid it all out, rubbing his hands together again. 

Steve nodded with a smile at his best friend. “Of course. I’d be more than happy to explore all of that with you. There are other things of course, and there’s a bit of paper I’d like to fill out with you so that we’re both on the same page. Give me a moment.” He said with a smile as he moved over to the computer and pulled up the files, printing them off and handing them over to Bucky who started to look them over. “This is a living contract. We can renegotiate anything at any time. This outlines the procedures, including safe words, aftercare, and what I expect from you as a submissive as well as what you expect from me as your dominant. I know it’s a lot, so you should take your time and look this over. We can meet tomorrow, at 5 pm, and talk it all over from there. How does that sound?” He asked, reaching out to lay his hand on James’ knee. 

“Y-yeah that sounds great. Thanks Steve.” James smiled at him as he kept looking through the papers.

“I’m not gonna kick you out, but I do have some homework to get done so that my sunday is as free as I can keep it. So feel free to hang out, ask questions as you’ve got them, but I’m going to have to do some of that homework.” Steve grinned as he shifted back to his desk as James laid back on the bed to read the paperwork carefully. This was a lot, but this was a good start, and he was excited to get started the next day at 5.


End file.
